Just Dinner and a Walk
by Katarina Wolffe
Summary: The Konoha 11 and the Sabaku Siblings all got together, but Rock Lee brought a special guest.  Over just dinner and a walk, who knows what they will discover about each other. Oneshot.  GaaOC.  For a Friend!


**Yo, Katarina Wolffe here!**

**This story is dedicated to one of my best friends of all time. She knows who she is… :)**

**This story includes Matsuri-bashing, and some Sakura-bashing too. Because let's face it…. THEY SUCK! Ahem. Don't like it, don't read it, and don't flame saying I didn't warn you. But if you are part of the glorious Matsuri-haters club, enjoy! And the Sakura-haters club. How dare she kill 'Sori-kun….**

**This story also includes hints of, aside from GaaOC:**

**-NaruHina**

**-NejiTen**

**-ShikaTema**

**-InoCho**

**I don't own Naruto or Green Day… nor do I own my best friend…. yeah.**

Sabaku no Gaara, the young eighteen-year-old Kazekage, sat at a seat at Ichiraku's Ramen in Konohagakure no Sato. He had come to visit his friend, Uzumaki Naruto, along with his two siblings, and student, Matsuri.

Matsuri.

He was really starting to wonder why in Kami-sama's name he had brought the girl along. She acted like she was his girlfriend or something, and constantly clung to him. She just used guilt trips all of the time, claiming it was his "duty as Kazekage and her sensei" to take her out to dinner and all sorts of ghastly things. He couldn't wait until he could get rid of her when she was a chuunin…. if she ever became one.

Gaara was roused from his thoughts by noises around him. Naruto had already greeted him, and was on his third bowl of ramen already. Sakura had claimed she couldn't come because of… 'previous engagements.' But he knew why. Today was supposed to be her weekly Sasuke-sulk-a-thon. Hinata was blushing whenever Naruto spoke to her, and even to Gaara, the relationship-challenged, it was obvious the girl was in love. Temari and Shikamaru were laughing about something. Shikamaru had never looked so un-lazy in his life as when he blushed beet red while Temari fed him ramen, laughing at him. Kankurou was off flirting with some girl. Typical Kankurou. Shino was talking to his bugs… again…. and Kiba was talking to Akamaru… again. Sai was reading a relationship guide book, as usual. For the first time in Gaara's expansive memory banks, Ino wasn't berating Chouji for his eating habits, but instead they were… eating out of the same bowl? He shrugged it off, going back to staring blankly ahead. Neji and Tenten were conversing on battle tactics, or something rather boring and ninja-like like that. Rock Lee was nowhere to be seen…

Suddenly, in a swirl of leaves, an ANBU appeared, with Rock Lee hanging from her arm. The girl pulled off the snake mask and hood, revealing a girl. She was panting slightly as she set her mask and arm guards on the seat beside Gaara, complaining to Rock Lee.

"Bakatare. I don't care if it's the most youthful thing in the world, you'd still be late!"

"And what of you my youthful cousin? You have just returned from a mission! With my youthful speed, I could've arrive with the speed of the Green Beast of Konoha that I am, carrying you on my back!" The girl's brown-green eye twitched with disgust at the thought.

"No. No, Lee-baka, just no."

The girl had forest green waist length hair, with bangs stopping at her eyebrows. She wiped sweat off of her forehead with the back of her hand, glancing over the people. Her cheeks turned a rosy pink - and not from exhaustion - when she noticed Gaara. She grabbed Rock Lee by the front of his shirt…. suit thing… and dragged him out of Ichiraku's Ramen. She pointed a finger back towards the stall before hissing in Rock Lee's face -

"You didn't tell me _he_ was going to be here! I thought you knew I asked not to be in the same place as _him!_" Rock Lee, being Rock Lee, was confused.

"Why, Onee-san? I did not know you bore ill-will against Gaara-san."

"I _don't!_ It's… it's just that…. you see…." Realization dawned on the Konoha nin's face.

"I understand now, lotus! Say no more! However, you will still have to deal. I have faith in you and your youth!"

The girl sweat-dropped, but was relieved at the same time. He may have been an idiot, but she could trust him with a secret. He knew not to mess with her secrets, even if he was actually her elder by one year. "Oh, and Lee?"

"Yes, lotus?"

"Never call me that again."

"What?"

"Lotus… it's creepin' me out."

Lee pulled her back into Ichiraku's and introduced her.

"Let me introduce my cousin Kohaku. She is an ANBU, and my younger by one year."

Kohaku took her seat beside Gaara again, a tiny blush dusting the bridge of her nose as the Kazekage glanced at her.

"Teuchi-kun! Usual please!" she called, waving her mask to get his attention. She accidentally dropped it, and rolled off of her seat to grab it. Standing up, Naruto glomped her.

"KOHAKU-CHAN! I MISSED YOU! YOU DIDN'T COME TO HELP ME TRAIN TO BE HOKAGE YESTERDAY!" Kohaku's hands clenched into fists, and she said,

"Naruto. If you don't stop hugging me this minute, you will never be the Hokage."

"Why is that Koha-chan?"

"I will kick you so hard where the sun doesn't shine that you will never even be able to walk straight again." Naruto let go of her immediately, falling backwards.

"G-gomen Koha-chan! I forgot you don't like hugs!"

Kohaku slid back into her seat to slurp down her vegetarian ramen. She noticed Gaara staring at her, and quirked an eyebrow.

"Is something wrong, Kazekage-sama?" Gaara shook his head.

"No. And you don't have to call me Kazekage-sama. Gaara will do fine," he commented. Kohaku nodded.

"Hey guys!" Kankurou shouted, calling all attention to the puppet master. "We should order some sake to celebrate us all being here!"

"Woohoo! Hell yeah!" Kiba shouted.

"A-ano, Kankurou-kun, I-I don't know if that's a g-good idea…" Hinata stuttered.

"YES, BELIEVE IT! IT'LL BE GREAT, HINATA!" Naruto bellowed.

"Sounds great! Order double for Neji, he's got a stomach steel!" Tenten giggled, sounding like she was already drunk.

"Hn," Neji and Shino, the resident ice cubes, grunted.

"Mmph," Chouji nodded in between bites.

"OK," Ino agreed.

"Works with me!" Temari gave her brother a thumbs up.

"Troublesome, but sure…" Shikamaru shrugged. Sai seemed pretty indifferent.

"I don't need any," Gaara stated.

"I don't either!" Matsuri claimed, latching onto Gaara's arm, attempting to call attention to herself.

"YOSH!" Rock Lee… Rock Lee'd. People turned to Kohaku, whose pale face had gone more pale still.

"Oh Kami-sama…" she whispered.

Kankurou started passing out drinks.

"Kankurou-san, do not by ANY MEANS give Rock Lee anything to drink!" Kohaku said, standing up. Neji and Tenten also paled, realizing their grave error in giving him alcohol.

But the order came too late… Rock Lee had already taken a swig. Chaos ensued.

Kicking and punching randomly, almost at light speed, Rock Lee knocked chairs down, and people off of said chairs. Everyone covered their eyes to try to shield themselves from the horrific drunk.

...And then it all stopped. Kohaku had two fingers pressed against her cousin's pressure points, and he had passed out. Kohaku smirked as she hoisted him over her shoulder.

"I better bring this sack of green spandex home. I'll come back soon… I need to go turn in that mission report anyways. Oh dear, where did I even put the mission report? Kami-sama, this is insane…" Kohaku walked away, green hair swishing behind her with Rock Lee hoisted over her shoulder like he weighed nothing at all, muttering to herself.

Gaara watched as the girl eventually just broke out into a sprint, crowd-dodging with ease. Matsuri noticed where he was looking, and suddenly Gaara's view of the girl was disrupted by a brown head of hair. He leaned back, eyes wide at Matsuri's proximity to him.

"Hiii, Gaara-sensei," she batted her eyelashes at him. He grunted, and turned back to his food. Matsuri was slightly disheartened, but continued. "So, Gaara-sensei, maybe we should go out for dinner?"

"We're already _at _dinner, Matsuri."

"I know, but I mean, just you and me, maybe that Barbecue Restaurant."

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"OK then, how about that fancy restaurant Koi-"

"Definitely no."

Gaara was saved by the return of Kohaku. Instead of wearing full ANBU attire, she was just wearing a pair of dark green sweatpants and a black and white kimono t-shirt. She had bandages wrapped all around her right arm.

"Kohaku-san, what happened to your arm?" Shino asked politely. Kohaku looked confused for a second before grinning. "Oh yeah, _that _arm! Well, you see…. uh…. well you know, I don't remember." Shino stared blankly, and Kiba facepalmed loudly.

"Wow, Koha-chan! That's a fail." Kohaku slapped Kiba on the back of his head, saying, "That's not nice." Kohaku shuffled back to her seat next to Gaara, and slurped down the rest of her ramen quickly. "Oh gross, it's cold," she complained, playing with it. Gaara watched with a tinge of amusement in his eyes. Kohaku stretched her arms, groaning, "Kami-sama! I'm tired… alright person sitting next to me, you're my new pillow," she said, resting her head on Gaara's shoulder, not even realizing it was him. Gaara was surprised, to say the least. He thought that he felt some heat rising to his cheeks, but didn't know why…

"Is little Gaara-kun _blushing?_" Kankurou suddenly exclaimed. All eyes were on Gaara, and he was confused. He had never blushed. Not once.

"He's right!" Naruto shouted, pointing at Gaara. He didn't know why he would. There was just a girl… a really cute girl… laying on his shoulder. Wait- where the hell did that "a really cute girl" come from? He mentally slapped himself. After all of 5 minutes of sleep, Kohaku came to, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She sat up, glancing over at her 'pillow.' She blushed tomato red when she realized who she had been laying on, glaring at the ground to hide it.

People slowly split off as the night wore on. Hinata said that her father would be angry if she got home any later, and so she left, with Naruto insisting on accompanying her. Neji and Tenten left, presumably to go to some other bar. Shikamaru fell asleep on Temari, so the Sabaku girl picked him up and carried him home. Shino had decided to go look for some night insect life, while Kiba had left with Kankurou to go drink themselves into oblivion. Ino and Chouji both went to retire early, hand in hand. That left Matsuri, Gaara and Kohaku. Kohaku stood up, and glanced down at Gaara. "I'm going to take a stroll around Konoha, you want to tag along?" she asked. Gaara shrugged and stood up, rolling his shoulders slightly, causing them to crack. "Matsuri, you might want to head back to the hotel. We'll probably have an early start tomorrow." Matsuri shrugged, though Inner Matsuri was freaking out because "that girl was messing with _her_ Gaara-kun!" While she plotted revenge, the two were already wandering off through the streets, paper lanterns faintly illuminating their green and red heads of hair.

Couples and families filled the streets, and Kohaku couldn't help but feel awkward. She had hardly even met Gaara, but they were taking a stroll through the streets. A little kid, maybe 5 years, waddled up to them, with his parents standing a little ways off.

"You two are Christmas colored!" he exclaimed with a slight lisp. Kohaku raised her eyebrows. The little kid looked up at Gaara. "You're the Kazekage! Hi Kazekage-sama!" The toddler stood right in front of the redhead, and he looked utterly flabbergasted as to what to do about the kid. Kohaku couldn't help but giggle at his look of pure confusion. Then, though, the little boy turned to her. He hugged her legs, and she stiffened up, horror crossing her face. It was Gaara's turn to chuckle. The kid was about to leave, when he turned back and said, "When you have a kid, he can be a Christmas kid." The child ran back to his parents, leaving two teenagers blushing cherry red. As they continued walking, Gaara commented,

"Say, Kohaku…"

"Yes?"

"You're Lee-san's cousin, right?"

"I still insist I'm adopted…"

"You're not, well, you know…"

"Hmm?"

"Into all of that 'youth' stuff…?" Kohaku laughed.

"No! NO! I've been thoroughly immune to the 'power of youth.' It was scary. Before I left on a mission, he was normal ol' Rock Lee, and when I get back, he's 'aflame with the powers of youth' and creepy green spandex!" Gaara couldn't help but laugh a little bit at the anecdote. The sound of water trickling past alerted them that they were at the river, a calm and steady flow of water passing down the river. Gaara looked over, and realized how short Kohaku was. Though Gaara was no giant at 5'4", Kohaku looked like she could hardly be above 5'1".

"You're short," he said. She huffed.

"I'm not _that_ short!"

"Suit yourself," he shrugged. He glanced over at a thick, winding tree that hung over the river. He sat down, with his back leaning against it. Kohaku opted to sit on top of Gaara - which actually worked quite well, considering her height. Ignoring the blush threatening to cloud her pale skin, she leaned her head back into his chest, closing her eyes and listening to the trickle of the river, and Gaara's steady breathing.

Gaara found himself playing with her long hair, hardly paying attention. Leaves from the tree above their head obscured the thick crescent moon overhead, which reflected on the water. Eventually, Kohaku sat up, cracking her neck muscles. "I better go home, or we'll both wake up with a heck of a back-ache tomorrow…" she commented, starting away. Gaara followed her, offering to walk her home.

"Ha, like an ANBU needs someone to walk her home," Kohaku scoffed.

"It's not like a Kazekage needs a thousand guards, and still he has them," Gaara countered, and it was decided. Silence hung thick over the sleeping city, save for the noise coming from busy dance clubs and bars. Kohaku stopped at a little apartment, rummaging through her pocket for her keys. A question had been bugging Gaara all night, and he had to ask her then, or not at all. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and said,

"Kohaku."

"Y-yes?" Kohaku asked, turning her head so that she was just barely glancing at him over her shoulder.

"You keep on blushing whenever we talk, or whenever I look at you. How come?" It seemed like an innocent question to Gaara. To Kohaku, however, it caused yet another rosy red blush.

"Like just now," Gaara commented in his deep baritone.

Kohaku stared at the wooden door in front of her. She could confess, and deal with the consequences, or she could just run. Running is so easy. She could just push open the door, close it behind her, and forget about it. Gaara would be gone by the end of tomorrow, and she could forget about it. But that's not what Konoha ANBU do… running isn't easy for them. They were all taught to be strong and fight, by honest, and stand their ground. Even in their personal lives. So taking one, big, steadying breath, she turned around, determination set in her eyes, and spoke the truth plainly and honestly. Just like the ANBU she was.

"I've had a crush on you for a while now. At times, I may go as far as to say I love you. No, scratch that. I definitely do love you."

Gaara was astonished. His eyes widened, and time seemed to kind of stop, as cheesy as it sounds.

"F-for how long?" he asked, stuttering, to his surprise.

"Since we were 12. I couldn't take my eyes off of you when I was one of the chuunin proctors in the first exam… you had quite a dark aura. After your fight with Lee-onii-baka, I was mad. You almost killed my cousin, how was I supposed to feel? But all the same, I was pretty sure there was something else. Sitting around wondering what you were like, I came up with my own little crush on you. I wondered if you had been teased about something, like I was about my height. I was watching most of your fight with Naruto, though. I found I couldn't interfere, that it wasn't my place. Everything you said, I remember it all, every word. I never realized how horrible it was for you, and it made me feel worse about myself. So absorbed with my childish crushes and wonderings as a stupid little twelve-year-old Chuunin, thinking I was the whole world. After I saw that fight, I was inspired. By the hardships both you and Naruto-kun bore, and how you delt with them. I was already a jounin when you became the Kazekage. That is what really sent me over the edge, training was practically my life. You inspired me to join the ANBU, and be more helpful to the world. You helped me forget my little worries - I realized how insignificant I am, and decided to strive for more. You inspired me, and I never could forget about you. Sure, I forgot everything else, but I couldn't lose that little crush… which isn't just a little crush. Lee-onii-baka once said that it was impossible to make me fall in love. I was friends with all of the boys, and a violent tomboy. I guess that's not so true. You're something else. Goodnight," Kohaku said, before opening her door, and closing it behind her.

"Oh Kami-sama, what on Earth did I just do?" Kohaku asked. "Now he's going to think I'm a fangirl…" she groaned. Gobbling down a stick of dark chocolate to make her feel better, Kohaku walked to her bed, still in a daze, and promptly fell asleep.

Gaara stayed, staring at the door, for a good half an hour. It wasn't that he hadn't had confessions before… Matsuri gave him at least three a week. The thing was, though, that this one was different. She didn't stutter, or blush, or try to kiss him on the spot or anything. She didn't demand a response. And most of all… since he was _twelve?_ Nobody liked him back then! But there had been this girl, this cousin of his opponent who he had tried to kill, who had been _in_ _love_ with him? He walked back to the hotel in a daze, barely noticing that Kankurou wasn't back yet.

It was raining the next day. The sky was bawling all over Konoha, which put Kankurou and Temari in exceptionally bad mood - of course, Temari was also sad because she would be leaving Shikamaru. Gaara, on the other hand, was looking around, fidgeting constantly. Matsuri wasn't worth mentioning, because she was being stupid. As usual. Naruto and several others showed up to bid them goodbye. Rock Lee - via the power of youth, of course - had miraculously recovered from his drunkenness without a hangover. They were just about to leave when a rush of wind blurred past them.

"That was Kohaku!" Lee shouted, running after her and catching up to her.

"Kohaku-chan, you must say goodbye to our youthful friends from Suna!" he exclaimed, panting. After having trained with Lee for so long, Kohaku's speed was almost as good as his.

"Ehh, okay," Kohaku nodded uneasily. She wasn't sure what to say to Gaara after her big confession the day before. They ran quickly back, and Kohaku's bang stuck out at an odd angle from the speed.

They went through all of the formalities, and then just before they left Gaara got up his nerve.

"Kohaku, could I talk to you for a moment?" he asked. Kohaku nodded, hands shoved in her pockets. Not really sure how to get away from everyone else, he just formed a sand barrier around them. Everyone outside of the sand stared at it oddly, unsure what he was going to say. They couldn't hear the noise from within.

Gaara took several tentative steps towards Kohaku, who was just as confused as the people outside. "Kohaku, I think I'm in love," he said. Kohaku thought she could hear her heart breaking in half. _Probably that Matsuri girl…_ she thought, covering her sadness with fake happiness. "I'm pretty sure you would kiss them or something, but I'm not sure." Gaara looked surprised, but then smirked.

"Is it that easy, huh?" he asked.

...And then he did just that.

The sand slowly crumbled around them, as Gaara wasn't paying attention. Everyone was thoroughly shocked to find the Kazekage kissing Rock Lee's ANBU cousin who he had met just the day before. She had a hand tangled in his hair, and he had an arm around her. Rock Lee nearly fainted on sight, along with Kankurou and Temari. When they broke apart, they were both blushing like mad (even if it's hard to imagine Gaara blushing at all). Kohaku smiled.

"Yeah, it's that easy."

Even though it was raining all the way out of Konoha's forest, Gaara was in a good mood, occasionally humming (much to the horror of his siblings). A little ways out of Konoha, Kankurou dropped back and cursed to nobody in general, "Dammit! Why does Gaara get a girl before me?"

Back in Konoha, Lee had been empowered to ask Sakura out again by Kohaku's "bold moves." Gai-sensei, as a sort of uncle-figure to Kohaku, had attempted to give her relationship advice. Before speeding off through the forest, Kohaku commented, "Gai-kun… you couldn't keep a relationship with your Academy sweetheart for more than 3 minutes before she was 'overwhelmed by the power of youth.' Should I really be going to you for advice?"

"_You keep on blushing whenever we talk, or whenever I look at you. How come?"_

**So, there you have it, aneki! (and all of my other readers!)**

**That was originally really lame. Kohaku had the cheesiest confession ever. I'm still kind of unsure about it, but much happier now. And I was actually pretty happy with the fluff, shocker.**

**But I NEED critique! The was the most fluffy thing I've ever written, and I want to know what you thought of the end, the part where they were kissing. It was strange for me, but it came kind of naturally (even if the realization that I had written that was kind of awkward).**

**Enjoy, and my the power of youth blaze within you!**

**~Katarina Wolffe**

**P.S.: My Blind Shadows readers -**

**As the Akatsuki arc has just started, I'm taking a little break. I'm writing several of my first ever oneshots - like this one - and also trying working on some other stories that I'm interested in. So no, it's not on hiatus or anything, I'm just trying some other stuff for a little while!**

**Ciao!**


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